Reuben leslie



(No Model.)

R. L. APPLEBY. INDICATOR.

No. 467,910. Patented Feb. 2, 1892.

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REUBEN LESLIE APPLEBY, OF VILMINGTON, DELAIVARE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO .I OSEPII N. WHEELER, OF SAME PLACE.

INDICATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 467,910, dated February 2, 1892.

Application tiled August 27, 1891. Serial No. 403,886. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be itknown that I, REUBEN LEsLIE APrLE- BY, a citizen of the United States, residing at XVilmington, in the county of New Castle and State ot Delaware, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indicators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to indicators, and may be used with equal advantage in selling theater-tickets, letting rooms on steamships and in hotels, and, in fact, in connection with anything that is designated by a character.

The object ot` my invention is to produce an indicator (for purposes of illustration and description, I will say) whereby a person upon entering a theater can ascertain in an instant what seats are not sold as well as those that are sold, and for this purpose a diagram of the seats in the theater is provided with openings in which the word Sold or the number of the seat is exhibited, said word or number being suitably secured upon drums which revolve immediately in the rear of the openings. Situate directly behind the abovedescribed diagram is a face-board having slots or other suitable openings, each of which have characters to correspond with those on the diagram hereinbefore referred to. Secured to one side of this rear face-board, directly in line with each slot, are weighted bodies which are by suitable means connected with the drums hereinbefore referred to. A ticket or check suitably numbered is placed in the slot bearing a similar number. Upon removing one of the tickets from the rear board t-he Weighted body falls by gravity, which in turn revolves the drum and the word Sold is eX- hibited in the opening on the diagram that corresponds with the number of the ticket Withdrawn. Thus it is obvious thata person can by simply glancing at the diagram see what seat or seats are not sold, its exact location, and purchase accordingly. Further, persons in line waiting their turn can, while they are thus waiting, pick out the seat they want by simplylooking at the diagram, which is in full view, and as soon as they reach the ticket-window they ask for the tickets bearing the numbers of the seats which they have thus selected, and the ticket-seller (the numbers of the tickets being in view) can without delay produce the same. Thusitwill be seen that tickets can by this device be sold much quicker and without the seller being annoyed with the usual and unnecessary questions which he is supposed to answer. Further, by means of the diagram having the sold and unsold tickets designated, a person can with more deliberation select the chair desired; and with these objects in view my invention consists of the parts and combination of parts, asvwill be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

Figure l isa vertical central section through my indicator, parts being broken away. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the rear face-board, part being broken away. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the diagram, showing the drums in their different positions. Fig. 4: is a view similar to Fig. l of a modification of my device.

A represents the diagram having the open ings a. A' are drums working on an axis A2, said axis being suitablyjournaled. a and c2 are raised surfaces on the drum, upon which are placed, respectively, the word Sold and the number of the ticket. These surfaces are illustrated in the drawings as raised 5 but it is obvious that the characters may be stamped in the drums or printed upon a slip of paper, which can be pasted around the drums. Extending from each drum is a lever A3, which may be cast integral with or separate from the drum, as found most desirable.

B is the rear face-board, through which are out slots or openings ZJ. Directly in line with the slots b are weighted levers C, which are pivoted at c to the rear face-board B. These levers are concaved on their under side, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 2, and have a shoulder c2, which forms a stop for the ticket or check. vers are small openings in which one end of a link or rod C is loosely secured, and the other end of the link or rod is secured in a similar manner to the levers A3, which extend from the drums A2.

D is the card or check.

The operation is as follows: Suppose that all of the tickets have been sold, in which In the outer or free end of these le- IOO case the levers c are in a position similar to the bottom lever C. (Shown in Fig. l.) While the levers are in this position, the word S old is exhibited on the drums A. It is now desired to refill the device with tickets for the next vperformance and the ticket-agent or some other person enters the tickets or checks in the proper slot b, in the reartace-board B, and one corner of the ticket enters the concave on the under side of the lever O, by which it is now guided, and as the ticket is further pushed in it gradually raises the lever C until it comes into contact with the shoulder c2, formed on said lever. The' lever C is now in a position similar to the second lever, represented in Fig. l, and the drums Aexhibit the respective number of the seats.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a slight modication, which is similar to my invention hereinbefore described, with the following exception: Im-

' mediately to the rear of the face-board B are secured standards b3, and sliding on these standards are weighted bodies b4, said bodies having a projection b5, provided with a 'suitable aperture in which is loosely secured one l vdiagram and indicators, of the rear face havp 4ing slots or openings adapted to receive tickets and the like, and weighted levers pivoted to said rear face directly in line with the said slots, and means connecting said levers with Athe indicators, substantially as described,A

jf 5. In anindicator ofthe character described, the combination, with adiagram having openings therein, of bodies journaled to Work im-, fmediately behind said openings, said bodies @having characters, the link, and Weighted le- ;-vers, said link connecting the Weighted levers with said bodies, substantially as described.

end of ,the link C; This body b4 is concaved on its under side like the levers C and for the same purpose, all of which has been hereinbefore described. h are rods which run entirely across the rear face-board and directly under the bodies b4, and 57 are rods connected with the rods b, and extend lto the top of the device, where they are connected with a suitable lifting means,whereby the bodies may, after all or part of the tickets have been sold, be raised to a position similar to the top body (shown in Fig. 4) and held there until the desired ticket or tickets have been placed in the slots b in position. Then the rods b are lowered and the bodies h4 rest upon the tickets. As soon as a ticket is withdrawn, the body resting on it slides down on the standards b3 until it comes in contact with the rod bs. This operation of course revolves the drums A-, as described in connection with Fig. l. At-

' tached to the rear face-board, under the slot not confine myself strictly to the parts herein shown.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with an indicator of the character described, of front and rear faceboards having openings, Weighted levers secured to theV rear face-board directly in line with said openings, and drums secured to the front face-board, said drums and levers being suitably connected.

2. In an indicator, the combination,\vith a diagram having openings therein and indicators located directly behind said openings, of a rear face-board provided with openings similar to those in the diagram and means connecting the openings in the rear face-board with the indicators,substantially as described.

3. In an indicator of the character described, the combination, with a rear face having slots adapted to receive tickets and the like and a weighted body engaging said tickets, of a `diagram having openings, and indicators adapted to be exhibited in said openings, said Vweighted body being mechanically connected with the indicators.

4. In an indicator, the combination, with a i 6. The combination, with the diagrams having openings therein, drums bearing charac- In testimony vvhereotl I aiiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

REUBEN LESLIE APPLEBY. Witnesses:

Jos. N. WHEELER, FRANK E. SMITH.

IOO' 

